Thursday, September 1, 2016

First of all, I want to thank all of you who left me some really wonderful comments last month. To tell you I appreciated them would be an understatement. I just wasn't sure if people are even reading blogs much anymore. I know I am not as diligent about keeping up as I used to be. Anyway, thank you so much and I promise to continue blogging...at least with show and tell.

So, here we go for August. We had company last week so didn't think I'd be going to Woolies, but at the last minute the family's plans changed and I was able to go. Needless to say, I was rushing to get there and forgot my own show and tell, so will save that for next month.

Leslie made this little cutie. Once again, she's hiding behind her creation. I'm gonna sneak a picture of her sometime when she's not looking. LOL

Nancy made this from a pattern by Bonnie Sullivan of All through the Night.

Her kitty's name is Magic.

Sue brought this one but she couldn't remember the pattern name.

Jean continues with these blocks.

You can check out the previous blog posts for other ones she's been working on.

Mari made this one.

She thinks it's a Kim Diehl pattern but couldn't remember the name.

And this one was inspired by a Kansas Troubles pattern.

Check out the little houses in the centers of the stars.

This is the pattern, so you can see how much she changed it up.

That's all for August.

Our prolific Sandy wasn't there to show us her finishes, so I'm sure September will be quite a show.

So, if you made it this far, you can see there are two Buttermilk Basin patterns in the next photo. Well, the generous Stacy West sent me these to give away to you. How sweet is that?

All I need from you is a question answered. How do you organize all your patterns? By designer? Type of medium? Seasonal? I'm looking for some ideas to help me out. When I'm looking for a pattern that I'm sure I have, I have to look everywhere. There has to be a solution to this madness.

(Be sure to leave your email address if you know you are a "no reply" commenter.)

58 comments:

I love your show and tell so much, I get great finishing ideas from you all as well as more patterns I need to make. Right now I have a wooden crate in my sewing room with all my patterns in it. Over the years as you all probably know there are quite a lot of them, this is not a great system as I spend a lot of time shuffling thru them, but, at least they are all in one place. I will be watching your comment section for great ideas. :). Tdmac11@comcast.net

My method is not the greatest. I sort by pattern type -- wool, tree skirt, bags, dolls, quilts, etc. but then I have 3 containers that they are in. First is make soon. Next is not so soon. And last is hmmm, why do I have this pattern. Or maybe why have I had it so long I don't like it much anymore. Within those containers sorted by type. Guess which container is the biggest. Yes. Soon. Oh and then there are the patterns stuck in the piles of fabric set aside to make them. That's the super soon ones. Not so great. I lose and find them constantly. Oh well. It's fun to go through them Also love the show and tell and your Instagram feed

I think you can see from previous comments that we are all struggling with this issue. I have some of my patterns in a file drawer and some in baskets. I am constantly digging through them to find what I am looking for. Hopefully someone will post with a great idea that we can all use!

I file my patterns first by designer (I have a lot of Buttermilk Basin and Thimble Blossoms for example), then the rest are by medium. I file them in clear plastic Sterilite containers (16 7/8" L x 11 1/2" W x 9 1/4" H) that I purchase from Walmart. This system works nicely for me.

I always enjoy your show and tell.. I keep all my magazines and patterns in magazine holders in my credenza behind closed doors. Not very organized but easy to grab a container and enjoy sorting thru them all. I am easily entertained.

What a great question! If I fall in love with a pattern, I'm off and running to the fabric store to buy any fabric I think I might need to make the quilt. Then I store the whole thing (backing included) in one of JoAnn's large storage boxes until I find the time to actually start working on it. I have my storage boxes stacked up nicely and organized in my sewing room. (I won't tell you how many of them I actually have :)))) Once I have my project box all put together, I list it in a "Master" notebook so I can just grab the notebook and see just what I have, where it is located in the stack(s), and then I can decided what I want to work on. My list tells me the pattern name, what fabrics I've put in the box and what, if anything, is still needed for the project. My biggest problem is that I really need to STOP buying patterns, MORE fabric, and MORE storage boxes and start spending my time actually quilting rather than shopping :)))

The girls do such beautiful work and so many beautiful pieces, enjoyed seeing them.Right now I have them all in a pile, keep some on shelves, some in containers, lol.What I normally do and am in an organizing stage myself is, by season for patterns and by author for books.

Woot Woot! What a cool giveaway! Such a nice show-and-tell. Loved them all! I organize my patterns by basket standing tall. No rhyme or reason except wool applique in one, embroidery patterns in the next, just piecing, and then I have a basket that I keep all the latest patterns most recently bought that I want to start in a different basket. Then when time goes by, I sort from the new basket into the other baskets if I don't start it right away (99% of the time lol). Works for me :o) So glad to see your post!

Hi Anne! I'm so glad you had show and tell today! I love seeing what all you woolies are doing out west. Here's my latest organizational method, since of course I have a zillion patterns and also spend time looking all over for the one I want to get my hands on. I divided every single pattern into a category based on where I would be placing it when completed. For example, I have a LONG kitchen island that I make a very wide but not very tall hanging for each season. Those are my ISLAND patterns. Another category is for the hanger/shelf right inside my front entry, where I also have something seasonal, so FRONT ENTRY patterns. At first I wasn't so sure this would work, but it is turning out to be a good system. Usually I get a pattern with an idea in mind as to where that item might go when completed. This way, no matter what season or holiday, the pattern will be in that particular holder. CANDLEMATS, DINING ROOM MANTLE SHELF, KITCHEN TABLE, BEDROOM QUILTS, etc. I store the patterns in clear magazine type holders that stand like a file folder but can expand to hold quite a bit. I do have a few pattern holders with more generic labels: PATRIOTIC, MINI QUILTS, WATERMELON, SNOW...just in case a pattern might be useful for a couple different places or have some ideas I might be able to implement elsewhere. (Like some wool candlemat pattern that would be cute on the edge of a mini quilt, etc.). Prior to this system I had patterns in individual notebooks in page protectors. One notebook for Buttermilk Basin, one for Primitive Gatherings, etc. but it was still hard to locate the pattern I wanted in the notebook I thought it would be in. Here's my big question for fellow quilters: what are you doing with patterns once you've made the item--do you keep it, trade it, sell it used online? Gotta make room for the new stuff! Happy organizing and creating everyone!

Hi Anne - love your blog! I have it marked so that when you make a new post I can immediately read it! Such an inspiration = don't quit blogging :)

I have tried some different ways of organizing my patterns but right now am doing it this way. I take the pattern, any fabric or wool I have purchased to make it and put them together in a 2.5 gallon Ziploc bag. I makes it easy to see which project is which and what I have for it or need to get. *Sigh* My stack of Ziploc's is growing! But it helps keep my sewing area from looking like a fabric explosion and then I don't misplace pieces parts!

Great to read others ideas - will help me in the future! Thanks for the giveaway

I always check your blog for new posts and it never disappoints. The pattern with the baskets in the corners is a Cheryl Wall design, it does look similar to Kim D. I only know that because I've made that same pattern. I organize my patterns in 2 plastic baskets that allow the patterns to stand up and then I can flip through them pretty easily.Thanks for the wonderful show and tell again.

I love reading your blog!! Please don't ever quit!! It's a once a month treat! As for pattern storage, I need help in that department. The pattern usually gets stored with the project until completion. Then it goes onto a shelf in no particular order. I usually don't make a project twice, but if I do need to find the pattern it takes 10-15 minutes of shuffling through the stack. I would love to win the giveaway! My email is: kimtleslie@msn.com

I have several large binders with sheet protectors. I put the patterns in them. So far I do not have them in any order, I just page through when I am looking for a pattern. Only downside to that is --- I often find something else I want to do first rather than the pattern I was first looking for. Hope that makes sense. Have a great holiday weekend, and I always look for your blog post.Elaine

I love your show and tell. I dont know many quilters IRL and even then I'm the only one who works with wool. I also use binders with sheet protectors. I knit, stitch, tat (the lace kind of tatting) and quilt. So I have pink binders for stitching, purple for quilting/sewing and mint for knitting and tatting. The woolies have their own purple binder (labelled of course) since so many of my quilt patterns have wool in them. I also have tons of quilting magazines but if I look in those I am done for the day because I adore looking at all the patterns. APQ has a flash drive coming out this fall with all of their back issues on it. I'm thinking about getting one just so I can save room in my house!

I love those Buttermilk Basin patterns. I wish I had an efficient method of filing patterns to share with you, but my method doesn't work very well either. I save those from magazines in file folder boxes and have a baskets for packaged patterns I've purchased. I still have trouble finding one when I need it.

I for one am glad you are going to keep blogging... especially your show and tellonthly posts. As always I enjoyed seeing everyone's creations....I organize many of my patterns in plastic page protectors and then in binders usually by season .....I'm sure there are dozens of ways to do this and as I don't have hundreds of patterns this works for me. Janet a fan from Ontario, Canada ..... janetmelanson@bell.net

I for one am glad you are going to keep blogging... especially your show and tellonthly posts. As always I enjoyed seeing everyone's creations....I organize many of my patterns in plastic page protectors and then in binders usually by season .....I'm sure there are dozens of ways to do this and as I don't have hundreds of patterns this works for me. Janet a fan from Ontario, Canada ..... janetmelanson@bell.net

Oh! There you are on my sidebar! Happy Dance! "She's Baaaa-ck!!!" I have loved the icicle stars pattern for ages and still haven't added it to my collection! Putting the little houses in the center of the stars is inspired! So cute! "Magic" is adorable too as are all the other things the Woolies are working on!My sewing room currently looks like a nuclear holocaust went off in it! However, my pattern collection is kept pretty organized. I have a lot of loose leaf binders. A couple with general patterns organized A-Z. Some for seasons and holidays and some for designers. Some devoted to specific BOMs. There's one for Woolie things, another for free downloaded patterns...one completely dedicated to Dresdens. I use my label maker to put a label on the spine.There are some I don't keep in notebooks. For those big unfolded patterns like Bunny Hill, I have a shelf with magazine holders. They're either grouped by designer or are alphabetically organized. I have smaller folded patterns sorted into some super cute little oval galvanized tins that I repurposed from my sons wedding that I use. An unused metal 5 slot file holder followed me home from work one day and I'm planning to use that to help me stay on track by organizing the things I want/need to be completing on month by month basis.Now...Miss Stacy...she's a special case...she has a notebook as well as a magazine holder keeping her organized in my sewing room, but there's still room in both, thank goodness, 'cuz she keeps putting temptation in my path!

Hi Anne!Another great showing! Love your Show and Tell as it's right up my alley! I keep my patterns in plastic sleeves in binders...labelled Christmas Wool, Christmas Quilts/Runners, Quilts from Magazines, BOM etc. (I love the idea of having Binders of Designers!!) Now I need a bigger shelving unit!!:o))

I used to keep my patterns in document protectors in a binder. That got too cumbersome so now I throw them into a metal bucket, standing up so I can thumb through them easily. Other than that, I may just have to think about the suggestions in the earlier comments! hahaha!

I have a great system to store my patterns----one huge draw------they just all get dumped in there and when I need a pattern, grab a cup of coffee, and sort through them til I find it. lol. Not the best way, but works for me. Every once in awhile, the draw gets too full, so I pick some that I know I'll never do and give them away to my quilting group gals.

Some lovely projects from the ladies this month. Thanks for sharing, Anne. I have patterns in pockets in binders, too. Used to have one for each season. Now I have 2 for each season so I try to put all the ones from the same designer together in the same binder. I have BOM ones in a separate binder and you can get multi-page plastic sleeves for those. Looks like I need to get more binders...it's back to school time so they are probably on sale :)

My heart always skips a beat when I see you've posted 'show and tell'. :-)

I "try" to organize my patterns by designer in two spots. If I've purchased a packaged pattern it goes in the pattern box (by designer) and I've purchased a downloaded PDF then it goes in a sheet protector in a notebook again by designer. And, then there's my here, there and everywhere system. LOL

I am not good at organizing my patterns but I try to keep some in plastic sleeves and then I have a RED breadbox on my sewing table and I throw them in the box! I do have a few notebooks labeled by designer and Season and type and then another for wool but some overlap so I am reduced to hunting for pattern. Thanks for the giveaway!

Thanks for sharing the pictures of the projects. Lovely to see what everyone is making.I keep my patterns standing up in a long box.I sort my patterns first of all by completed or not. Then I put the ones I think I want to make first at the front of the box. Then I sort the rest according to designers.

I just love your show and tell - there are always so many amazing projects - always inspiring! I keep my patterns in protective sleeves, in big 3-ring binders. They need to be sorted a little better - but I have one binder for non-quilts - runners, pin cushions, bags, etc. Then if I have a lot of patterns by one designer, those are all together. What I should do is go through them and pull out the ones that I know I will never make and get rid of them! My binders are overflowing!

Wow! I really like the way she changed up the Icicle Stars quilt! The houses set it off so nice! I always enjoy these show and tells... each piece is a beauty and always customized to the maker! :-) I organize my patterns first by medium and then kinda sub-group them by season. ;-) And... while I'm ready for pumpkin season... I sure would enjoy stitching some snow rather than shoveling it!!! lol! Have a SUPER Labor Day weekend!

Anne, I'm sooooooo happy to know that you will continue blogging. Your projects always "speak to me"...no blog Sandy's, too! I organize my patterns in ring binders with plastic sleeves, according to season: wool in one, cotton in another, BOM & SAL in another. I better get busy or will soon need more binders! Please don't include me in the giveaway (see previous sentence!LOL)...seriously, one can never have too many patterns; however, I was lucky enough to win BB patterns earlier. Give someone else a chance to be delighted to win Stacy's designs. hugs!

I was thinking about how I organize my patterns and books. I mostly have applique patterns now. I keep them by designer. If I have both books and single patterns, I keep them together in a cardboard file container. I don't have enough of those right now, so some on on the shelf on end but together. Except for Cheri patterns and books. I have so many that they are in a plastic storage basket. I have large see through vinyl expandable file holders that I put patterns in that I have torn out of magazines and store them in a couple of those. I have the card weight folders that I store block of the month patterns that I have printed from the internet. They either go in with a particular designer or just on the shelf if I have no other patterns by that person. I have the wool patterns separate and they are in a good size plastic container that has an attached lid (I am about to outgrow it). And stitchery patterns are in a wood file cabinet. It all makes sense to me but maybe not to others.

I always look forward to your show and tell blog. As far as pattern organization, I throw them in a big Rubbermaid bin and then search for what I'm looking for. that's not much organization!quiltlady2010@hotmail.com

Oh, I love all the appliqué quilts, something I am trying to do more of. Just learning wool appliqué and I love it. In answer to your question about storing patterns. I just have put mine in page protector sleeves into binders, by type, pieced, appliqué, seasonal or whatever. I'm hoping to see a fall decorating blog from you, as your ideas are so inspiring. A new email for me is thornefam1@comcast.net. I see an older one on the email followup comments section. I still have it, just don't get around to checking it:(

I have noticed many bloggers are no longer blogging, and I miss them! I check your blog frequently, so please don't stop. (I think lots have gone to Instagram.) I file my patterns by designer in magazine holders in a bookcase. Thanks for sharing on your blog and Instagram.

I sort my patterns by styles in one of those cubby cubes. I have one for wools and one for cottons. I have bags, small quilts, runners, lap quilts, and full quilts. Another group is just projects like pillows and such. I enjoy your blog and the pictures of finished projects. Keep them coming because it is nice to see how 2 people can make the same pattern look different. Forgot to mention, that I keep patterns printed from the internet in binders according to what they are also. There have been some wonderful blocks of the month or week offered on here. I especially like the Harvest Mystery Quilt and the Let It Snow woolies recently.

I keep them in clear sleeves in binders. Some tabs are by designers, if I have a lot of patterns, others by season. Purses and handbags, etc. then my big BOM I have stored in a box away from those because they are just HUGE. Seems to work..I just have to keep up on it.Donna

Love reading your blog. Unfortunately, I can't be much help in organizing your patterns. I have them all over the place, although I try to put most of them in one of the plastic file boxes and patterns I have downloaded in plastic sleeves and then into a notebook. At least that is the plan. LOL!

Love reading your blog. Unfortunately, I can't be much help in organizing your patterns. I have them all over the place, although I try to put most of them in one of the plastic file boxes and patterns I have downloaded in plastic sleeves and then into a notebook. At least that is the plan. LOL!

As always cute projects-love the little houses in the stars! I organize my patterns by what they make, irregardless of the material used. All quilts together-pillows-totes-etc. I put them in plastic containers that fit on my book shelves. If I have torn a pattern out of a magazine or made a copy from a book-then I put them in the clear page protectors and put them in notebooks-also organized by what they make.

Oh my gosh I'm sure I'm too late for your contest, I'm thinking of using a binder for all my "loose" patterns. You can purchase clear view sleeves for the binder and tuck your pattern right in, just make sure the opening is at the top of the binder so the patterns do not spill out. A binder for fall, winter, etc.